Random thoughts from a few cantankerous American physicians. All contributors are board certified. Various specialties are represented here. I do not know where this will lead but hope it will at least be an enjoyable read. All of the names mentioned in this blog are pseudonyms, the ages have been changed, and in half the cases the gender as well. All photographs are published with patient consent or are digitally altered to preserve anonymity. Trust us, we're doctors.

This happens all too often. I've read a lttle about Dr Bean from the link, what a tragedy for all concerned.Hospitals take flight programs as a PR gig and think little about what could and does, too often, happen.I do not say this with a mean spirit, nor do I mean so with the following comments.I do not believe, in my experience,(and I have flown)that physicians make any difference on flight crews.I really don't know if I believe "flight programs" make good medical sense.If it's in a big city, it's touted as bypassing the "traffic" on the streets..If it's in a rural area, it's because of the "distances" involved.I just have not personally seen helicopters and the medical personel aboard ACTUALLY SAVE A LIFE just because of their availability to be there a bit faster. And I have used them in big cities and in areas so rural that only the Outback could be farther from "a big trauma center"I have seen too many of these crashes and I don't know if they are worth the cost of the lives of a whole flight crew for the possible medical gain of any patient. And it certainly doesn't justify "PR" for ANY hospital.God Bless these most recent victims and I pray for the families left behind..

Have you or a loved one every farted blood, choked on a hot dog, tripped on a curb, jammed your finger, had itchy hair syndrome, or every been injured, imbarrased, fallen or been exposed to anything harmful? If so, that means you are alive, and don't call any of these scum bag lawyers.

Are there really a lot of Helicopter accidents? My brother flys for the coastguard and he used to be an accident prone kid. I am under the impression the Coast guard does not have a lot of helicopter accidents. But I could be wrong.

pinky, helicopters are dangerous. while many fixed wing pilots can at least attempt a glide-in emergency landing the best a helicopter pilot can do is to auto-rotate down. the common use of helicopters in patient transport and trauma transport has many detractors, for reasons that are obvious.

and yes, many newer helicopters can go IFR. we just got an IFR bird and it hasn't seemed to make a difference for weather-down days. i agree with oldfart. is it really worth it? many studies on this are inconclusive and some suggest that they do NOT appreciably alter outcomes. i personally remember a air ambulance crash in Texas in 1998, one in Denver in 2000 or 2001, a bunch of news copters, and now this. helos going down in standard military training is common. our hospital, which can't do a lot of specialized stuff, stakes a lot on having a helicopter on the pad, but i think this is cold comfort.

I hate Helicopter paramedics. They always treated me like crap during a trauma when I was suppose to get the identity of whoever they just brought in. Would it be so hard to throw me a license?

I used to be a Secretary in the ER in a Boston Hospital during nursing school.

Sounds like things have gotten way worse in the ER since I was there. When I was in nursing school, I thought I would stay in the ER. That is until one of the nurses got a needle stick and contracted HIV and Hep C.

Plinky, IFR is an abbreviation for "Instrument Flight Rules." These are procedures pilots follow in low visibility situations, when they have no external reference points with which to orient themselves or navigate, making them dependant on their flight instruments. Pilots must have special training in order to be certified to fly IFR on purpose. However, any pilot might find him or herself "in the soup," so all pilots get at least a little IFR training in basic flight school.

Devorrah. Thank you for your gracious and kind apology. However, you do not need to apologize for anything. The, ahem, individual, in question represents no one but himself and those who use his or her services. No reflection on you or any other attorney who honestly helps people deal with real problems. Did this . . . person . . . really write that it was important to call him or her soon after the crash in order to obtain, “a successful result”? I would enquire as to how he or she defines “success” in one of these situations, but I am already nauseous after reading as much of this Web site as I could stand, and I think the answer would result in quite a mess.

To those who knew Dr. Bean and the rest of the crew, I am so very sorry. What a horrible loss. Horrible, unfair, wasteful loss. Tears just don’t seem to be enough right now. Is there anything that we can do for the families, anemic and trivial though our gesture would be?

Well I called my brother who flys helicopters for the Coast Guard and asked how many crashes they have a year. He told me none. Told me of a website to look up helicopter crashes. I don't think I will. I would rather not know about it.

Then he told me the Coast Guard has two things EMS does not. They have night vision goggles and they are know how to use them and they have two pilots on each aircraft. And of course they have the nice seat belts and the survival dry suits just in case they fall in the Bering Sea.